Marco Tullio Liuzza

Universita' degli Studi "Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro | Università Magna Græcia di Catanzaro · Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences

In two studies we aimed at developing the Attitude towards Italian Mafias Scale (AIMS). In study 1 ( N = 292) we used an Exploratory Factor Analysis to reduce the number of the items and explore their latent constructs. In study 2 ( N = 393) we performed a Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the resulting 18-item questionnaire, whose latent structure w...

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has gained incredible popularity in the last decade. To test whether a brief written exchange would impact interpersonal dynamics between individuals, here we asked participants to engage in virtual written conversation—starting from an abstract or a concrete topic—with another individual (interactive condition...

Algorithms have become ubiquitous in our day-to-day activities. Their presence ranges from low-stakes decisions such as what music we should listen to, to high-stakes decisions regarding promotion decisions. Despite the frequency and range with which we interact with algorithms, academic research, as well as public outcries, suggest that humans oft...

Background It remains unclear among clinicians and researchers whether orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a part of the obsessive–compulsive disorder spectrum or eating disorders. Disgust seems to be a shared psychopathological factor in these clinical presentations, indicating a potentially crucial role in ON. On the other hand, numerous psychometric tool...

Background It remains unclear among clinicians and researchers whether Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) spectrum or eating disorders (EDs). Disgust seems to be a shared psychopathological factor in these clinical presentations, indicating a potentially crucial role in ON. On the other hand, numerous psych...

Background: Olfaction is intimately involved in reproductive behaviors. However, there is limited evidence about the relationship between olfactory and sexual functioning, and whether this relationship is modulated by gender. This study aimed to investigate the correlates between olfactory and sexual functioning in a cohort of young healthy indivi...

Odors are important disease cues, and disgust sensitivity to body odors reflects individual differences in disease avoidance. The body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) scale provides a rapid and valid assessment of individual differences. Nevertheless, little is known about how individual differences in BODS might correlate with overall odor percept...

Body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) reflects a behavioural disposition to avoid pathogens, and it may also involve social attitudes. Among participants in the USA, high levels of BODS were associated with stronger xenophobia towards a fictitious refugee group. To test the generalizability of this finding, we analysed data from nine countries acro...

Background It remains unclear among clinicians and researchers whether Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) spectrum or eating disorders (EDs). Disgust seems to be a shared psychopathological factor in these clinical presentations, indicating a potentially crucial role in ON. On the other hand, numerous psych...

Body dissatisfaction (BD) is an important public health issue as it negatively influences the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of children/early adolescents. Available measures of BD for this population are scarce, have a significant bias, or only evaluate weight-related dissatisfaction. This study, through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA),...

Unlabelled: In bipolar disorder (BD) patients, trauma has been associated with emotional dysregulation, potentially leading to an increase in impulsivity and dissociative symptomatology. We aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma, impulsivity, and dissociative symptomatology in BD with a special focus on the role of impulsiv...

Background : Cognitive impairment (CI) is common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and its prevalence rate ranges between 22% and 70%. Because CI significantly impacts vocational status, caregiver burden, and quality of life, an accurate neuropsychological assessment is required. Three widely used and validated batteries for MS-associated CI are the Brie...

Objectives Olfactory function is involved in many aspects of our life, such as pathogen threat detection. Body odors appear to play a role in sexual behaviors and mate choice. Previous studies have shown that olfaction is also involved in the bonding of a romantic relationship. Methods In the present preliminary study, we explored the relationship...

Objectives Olfactory function is involved in many aspects of our life, such as pathogen threat detection. Body odors appear to play a role in sexual behaviors and mate choice. Previous studies have shown that olfaction is also involved in the bonding of a romantic relationship. Methods In the present preliminary study, we explored the relationship...

Following theories of emotional embodiment, the facial feedback hypothesis suggests that individuals’ subjective experiences of emotion are influenced by their facial expressions. However, evidence for this hypothesis has been mixed. We thus formed a global adversarial collaboration and carried out a preregistered, multicentre study designed to spe...

Background Previous literature has shown that executive functions (EF) are related to performance in memory (M) tasks. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of psychometric tests that examine these two constructs simultaneously. The Test of Memory Strategies (TMS; previously validated in Spain and Portugal) could be a useful verbal learning task that e...

Previous studies have shown that olfactory function plays an essential role in the bonding of a romantic relationship. Body odors, in particular, seem involved in both mate choices and other intimate behaviors. Our sense of smell is also crucial to detect possible pathogen threats, by activating a suitable disgust reaction. Previous studies have sh...

Introduction Obesity is a major health problem with an increasing risk of mortality, associated with comorbidities and high rates of dropout. Research demonstrated that pathological eating behaviors could help to phenotype obese patients thus tailoring clinical interventions. Therefore, our aim was to develop (study 1), validate (study 2), and test...

The study of moral judgements often centres on moral dilemmas in which options consistent with deontological perspectives (that is, emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with options consistent with utilitarian judgements (that is, following the greater good based on consequences). Greene et al. (2009) showed that psychol...

In the present article, I review some evidence that shows how body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) plays a central role in the so-called behavioral immune system (BIS), a set of processes aimed at detecting, emotionally reacting, and behaviorally avoiding pathogen threats. I also report empirical evidence on how the BODS relates to social attitudes...

p>This is a correction notice for article bjaa041 (DOI: https:// doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041), published 20 June 2020. An incorrect version of the caption to Figure 5 was mistakenly included in the published paper. An updated version is given below. Neither the data nor the paper's conclusions were affected by this correction. The authors sincer...

In the present chapter, I will focus on how the emotion of disgust and the sense of olfaction play a crucial role in avoiding disease. I will then narrow my review on the research into disgust and olfaction in two domains that might be relevant to the disease avoidance hypothesis: gender differences and sexual behaviour, with consideration of diffe...

Background There has recently been growing interest in the roles of inflammation in contributing to the development of anxiety in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID). Patient-reported outcome measures can facilitate the assessment of physical and psychological functioning. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Patient-Repor...

How do valenced odors affect the perception and evaluation of facial expressions? We reviewed 25 studies published from 1989 to 2020 on cross-modal behavioral effects of odors on the perception of faces. The results indicate that odors may influence facial evaluations and classifications in several ways. Faces are rated as more arousing during simu...

Recent theories propose that abstract concepts, compared to concrete ones, might activate to a larger extent interoceptive, social and linguistic experiences. At the same time, recent research has underlined the importance of investigating how different sub-kinds of abstract concepts are represented. We report a pre-registered experiment, preceded...

Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear w...

How do valenced odors affect the perception and evaluation of facial expressions? We reviewed 25 studies published from 1995 to 2020 on cross-modal effects between olfaction and facial perception. The results indicate that odors may influence facial evaluations and classifications in several ways. Faces are rated as more arousing during simultaneou...

Background: Sociosexual orientation (SO), muscle performance (MP), and disgust sensitivity (DS) play a crucial role in sexual life. Previous research reported a relationship between SO and muscle strength, but the association across these variables has not been fully investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the association between SO, MP, and DS...

Recent theories propose that abstract concepts, compared to concrete ones, might activate to a larger extent interoceptive, social and linguistic experiences. At the same time, recent research has underlined the importance of investigating how different sub-kinds of abstract concepts are represented. We report a pre-registered experiment, preceded...

Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation and...

Now published in Chemical Senses doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa041. Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, generally lacked quantitative measure...

Background: The prevalence of anxiety is three times greater in patients with chronic diseases than in the general population. There has recently been growing interest in the roles of inflammation in contributing to the development of anxiety in people with Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID). Patient-reported outcome measures can facilita...

The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that an individual’s subjective experience of emotion is influenced by their facial expressions. Researchers, however, currently face conflicting narratives about whether this hypothesis is valid. A large replication effort consistently failed to replicate a seminal demonstration of the facial feedback hypoth...

Aim: We studied occupational stress and its effects on health in a sample of Italian chefs using a structural equation modeling (SEM) analytical approach. Methods: In an online study, 710 chefs were recruited through the Italian Chefs Federation. They answered several questionnaires to evaluate whether the risk of occupational stress (measured with...

Body odors are universal elicitors of disgust, a core emotion that plays a key role in the behavioral immune system (BIS) – a set of psychological functions working to avoid disease. Recent studies showed that body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) is associated with explicit xenophobia and authoritarianism. In the current experimental pre-registered...

To what extent are research results influenced by subjective decisions that scientists make as they design studies? Fifteen research teams independently designed studies to answer five original research questions related to moral judgments, negotiations, and implicit cognition. Participants from two separate large samples (total N > 15,000) were th...

Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation and...

Background: Given the emphasis on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as the “golden standard” treatment for OCD in the UK, some authors have called for the application of this model in the Arab world. Method: A quantitative single-group design with pre and post-assessment. Symptoms were assessed in relation to the CBT treatment and a single time...

Over the last ten years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence-dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgments of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear w...

Understanding the dynamics of trustworthiness in ideological contexts could influence human societies, affect electoral campaigns and ultimately impact democracy. We tested trust behaviour towards political leaders in a sample of 121 opposing/supporting voters assigned as trustors in an iterative trust game (TG). In two experiments, a famous Italia...

The issue of how abstract concepts are represented is widely debated. However, evidence is controversial, also because different criteria were used to select abstract concepts – for example, imageability and abstractness were equated. In addition, for many years abstract concepts have been considered as a unitary whole. Our work aims to address the...

Accepted on Language and Cognition - The issue of how abstract concepts are represented is widely debated. However, evidence is controversial, also because different criteria were used to select abstract concepts - for example, imageability and abstractness were equated. In addition, for many years abstract concepts have been considered as an unita...

Social conformity refers to the tendency to align one’s own behaviors, beliefs and values to those of others. Little is known about social influence coming from a minority group. To test whether social pressure from sexual minorities triggers avoidance-motivated behaviors, we explored how being influenced by the preferences of gay peers modifies th...

Detecting pathogen threats and avoiding disease is fundamental to human survival. The Behavioral Immune System (BIS) framework outlines a set of psychological functions that may have evolved for this purpose. Disgust is a core emotion that plays a pivotal role in the BIS, as it activates the behavioral avoidance motives that prevent people from bei...

Detecting pathogen threats and avoiding disease is fundamental to human survival. The behavioral immune system (BIS) framework outlines a set of psychological functions that may have evolved for this purpose. Disgust is a core emotion that plays a pivotal role in the BIS, as it activates the behavioral avoidance motives that prevent people from bei...

Why are certain individuals persistent in opposing immigration? The behavioral immune system framework implies that a psychological mechanism, which adapted to detect and avoid pathogen threats, is also reflected in contemporary social attitudes. Moreover, prejudice towards outgroups might be partially driven by implicit pathogen concerns related t...

Articolo su richiesta per il premio Best Paper AISC Vittorio Girotto 2017, in corso di pubblicazione su Sistemi Intelligenti. Versione provvisoria. To explain how abstract concepts, like “truth”, are represented is pivotal for embodied and grounded theories, according to which concepts are grounded in sensorimotor system. An important novelty in re...

Mental simulation theories of language comprehension propose that people automatically create mental representations of real objects. Evidence from sentence-picture verification tasks has shown that people mentally represent various visual properties such as shape, color, and size. However, the evidence for mental simulations of object orientation...

Detecting pathogen threats and avoiding disease is fundamental to human survival. The Behavioral Immune System (BIS) framework outlines a set of psychological functions that may have evolved for this purpose. Disgust is a core emotion that plays a pivotal role in the BIS, as it activates the behavioral avoidance motives that prevent people from bei...

When in a stressful situation, access to adult attachment figures (e.g., romantic partners) is an important means by which adults regulate stress responses. The practice of smelling a partner's worn garment is reported as a self-treatment against stress. Here, we experimentally determined whether exposure to a partner's body odor attenuates adults'...

Why are certain individuals persistent in opposing immigration? The behavioral immune system framework implies that a psychological mechanism, adapted to detect and avoid pathogen threats, is also reflected in contemporary social attitudes. Moreover, prejudice towards outgroups might be partially driven by implicit pathogen concerns related to diss...

Classical views on the relationship between prejudice and ideology hold that a “prejudice gap” occurs such that conservatives are more prejudiced than liberals towards out-groups. This view has been recently challenged by studies showing that prejudice is fueled by a more general ideological dissimilarity (i.e., value-conflict hypothesis). Chambers...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = .05 to .005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significance tes...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = .05 to .005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significance tes...

Previous research has documented that correct eyewitness memories are more rapidly recalled and recognized than are incorrect ones, suggesting that retrieval ease is diagnostic of memory accuracy. Building on these findings, the current research explores whether verbal and paraverbal cues to retrieval effort could be used to determine the accuracy...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = 0.05 to p = 0.005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significan...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = 0.05 to p = 0.005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significan...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = 0.05 to p = 0.005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significan...

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = .05 to .005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significance tes...

Authoritarianism has resurfaced as a research topic in political psychology, as it appears relevant to explain current political trends. Authoritarian attitudes have been consistently linked to feelings of disgust, an emotion that is thought to have evolved to protect the organism from contamination. We hypothesized that body odour disgust sensitiv...

The following information is missing from the Funding section: This study was supported by the PRIN grant (Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale, Edit. 2015, Prot. 20159CZFJK), by the H2020-SESAR- 2015–1 (MOTO: The embodied reMOte TOwer, Project Number 699379), by a research grant to Marco Tullio Liuzza from the Swedish Research Coun...